50 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2024
    1. For an inexpensive starter machine ($5-25) that's easy to find, easy to get parts for and has a reasonable chance of working when in "unknown" or "untested" condition, I'd recommend one of the following ubiquitous, but solid machines which show up almost daily on ShopGoodwill.com:

      They'd all make excellent starter machines for a younger kid. The black models with glass keys from the 1940s will look a bit more old school/classic while the more industrial browns and grays with plastic keys from the 1950s are still solid choices. You might also find some later 60s/70s versions of these machines (or variations), and while they may be a bit more colorful, they'll usually have a lot more cheap plastic and can potentially have cheaper builds. (My parents got me my first typewriter, a 1948 Smith-Corona Clipper, in the mid-1980s when I was 10—I have it today and it still works as well as it did then; I still also love the airplane on the hood.)

      If you want something simple with a bit of color you can also look at the 70s/80s Brother Charger 11 which is pretty ubiquitious and inexpensive as well.

      Since you have some time, you can wait for one in better looking cosmetic condition (and with a case) which means it was probably better taken care of, and less likely to need aggressive cleaning, and more likely to work without needing any repairs. You can also wait to find one local that you can pick up in person (to save shipping cost and/or potential damage) or which will be cheaper to ship from nearby.

      Without any experience, you might try looking at Just My Typewriter's Typewriter 101 series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtHauPh529XYHI5QNj5w9PUdi89pOXsS She covers most of the basics there.

      Cleaning a machine isn't horribly difficult and can be done pretty cheaply ($20 or less for some paint thinner/isopropyl and a small toothbrush), but if you need it or get a machine that needs some repair work, try https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html.

      If you're in an area with lots of yard sales, try shopping around and see if you find something interesting. It's at these that you'll have a potential chance of finding more collectible machines for pennies on the dollar and it'll also give you the chance to put your hands on machines to test them out to make sure they work.

      Good luck! 🎄


      reply to u/strawberystegosaurus at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1g5rgi4/typewriter_for_christmas_please_help/

  2. Aug 2024
  3. Jul 2024
  4. Jun 2024
    1. reply to u/virtualellie at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1ds1aps/typewriter_suggestions_for_newbie/

      aggregated links from prior notes:


      I'd generally endorse most of the advice on models you'll find in these sources which are geared specifically toward writers, all three sources have lots experience and reasonable bona fides to make such recommendations.

      Obviously, you'll want to steer towards the smaller portables in the lists, but most of what's represented should fit your criteria. You'll notice a lot of overlap but with different positioning, so there's obviously some personal preference at play. If there's a nearby shop to you, it may be worth driving over to try out the touch and feel of some machines to see which you like best. Try https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html

      There was also some sage advice from u/Thylacine33 about purchasing the other day which may be helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1drj32h/comment/lawb2h7/

      Beyond this Just My Typewriter has a few short videos that'll give you a crash course on Typewriter 101: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtHauPh529XYHI5QNj5w9PUdi89pOXsS

    1. Only portable and ultra-portables

      List: 1. Hermes 3000 (Switzerland) (pre-1965 curved models; square tops are good, though slightly less solid; later plastic frames aren't durable at all) 2. Olympia SM9, SM8 & Monica (Especially pre-1970s) SM8 has tabs on the back. the SM9 are by the spacebars. Best SM9s are green shift keys and knobs.<br /> 3. Olivetti Lettera 32, Lettera DL (Italian better than Spanish) Mexico, Brazil and other countries are lower quality materials<br /> 4. Olympia SM3, SM4, SM2<br /> 5. Imperial Good Companion Model 1<br /> 6. Smith-Corona Super, Silent Super (Series 5); pre-war flat tops too<br /> 7. Olivetti Lettera 22<br /> 8. Brother De Luxe; Brother 200, 210, 220 (no repeat spacers; prefer metal frames) 9. Olympia Traveller de Luxe S (German; not Eastern Europe which were weaker); Olympia Splendid 33, 66, 99<br /> 10. Adler Tippa; Adler Tippa S; Triumph Tippa

      Also rans: <br /> - Underwood 3 bank<br /> - Royal P<br /> - Hermes 2000<br /> - Remington Quiet DeLuxe<br /> - Remington Victor S or T<br /> - Hermes Baby (metal frame)<br /> - Halda and Erika M.

    1. reply to u/Rabbits16 at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1df7o2t/request_type_writer_suggestion_please/

      For that budget range, pick up something cleaned and fully serviced from a nearby shop https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html

      Too many resellers are pushing overpriced machines that say "works" or "may need servicing" on some online shops like ebay or Etsy for top end pricing when you can get something truly spectacular and ready for the next 50 years from a serious pro that needs the support for the same price.

      As for particular machines to look at, I can't find much to fault in Joe's advice here https://youtu.be/aKMt-aCHZZk?si=CGPduwA4A3HPDm3u

  5. Apr 2024
  6. Dec 2023
    1. https://blumm.blog/2022/12/31/dejo-de-recomendarte-cuarenta-y-dos-libros-que-no-has-leido-en-2022-pero-yo-si-una-lista-menos/

      Bernardo Munuera Montero recommends that one never recommend books to others as it's most likely a lost cause. He contends that people are far better of discovering their own reading for their own devices.

  7. Sep 2023
    1. 'The Aeneid' Begins (Schedule and Context)

      reply to u/epiphanysherald at https://www.reddit.com/r/AYearOfMythology/comments/16eti72/the_aeneid_begins_schedule_and_context/

      I've not listened to it before, but some may find Elizabeth Vandiver's Aeneid of Virgil from The Great Courses series to have some useful information and background while reading: https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/aeneid-of-virgil.

      It's not terribly expensive on their website, but many public libraries will have copies available for free, often including streaming through Overdrive.com, HooplaDigital.com, or other related free platforms.

      Others in their series including those I've gone through from Vandiver before (The Iliad of Homer comes to mind) have been useful/helpful, especially with regard to context and history.

  8. Aug 2023
    1. Another source on note-taking which I recommend highly is Lion Kimbro’s How to Make a Complete Map of Every Thought You Think (html, pdf). This is about a completely different system of note-taking, with different goals. However, it contains a wealth of inspiring ideas about note-taking systems, including valuable tips for the raw physical aspects of keeping paper notes. I recommend reading this interview with Lion Kimbro as a “teaser” for the book -- he mentions some things which he didn’t in the actual book, and it serves somewhat as “the missing introduction” to the book.
    1. Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD - Exercises

      A meditation course by [[Lidia Zylowska]] mentioned during the [[ADDA Mindfulness Meditation]] session [[2023-08-05 VPSG; Mindfulness Meditation for the ADHD Brain]]. Purported to be developed to specifically target [[ADHD]].

  9. Jul 2023
    1. A paper recommended by Pablo B. which is about the implementation of a software for iterative visualizations. Looks very promising

    1. Tonne-for-tonne offsetting has historically relied upon the cheapest possible carbon credits that do little to benefit the climate and represent no real pollution cost for companies. Polluters should move to money-for-tonne contributions instead, based on an internal carbon price (WWF recommends $50-250), which would encourage the purchase of higher quality carbon credits with co-benefits. The internal carbon price in turn could be proportional to companies’ revenues or profits. 

      Buying carbon credits with co-benefits, not offsets

  10. Jun 2023
    1. An article recommended to me by Dalton V. that he thought I'd enjoy and appreciate. Looks like AlignmentForum is one of those "online Rationalist communities" (like LessWrong, SlateStarCodex, etc.).

      The blog post "The Waluigi Effect" by Cleo Nardo touches on a variety of interesting topics:

      • the Waluigi effect
      • Simulator Theory
      • Derrida's "there is no outside text"
      • RLHF (Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback) and potential limits
  11. May 2023
    1. I buy exclusively from Ribbons Unlimited since their products and service are superb. I have purchased from Amazon suppliers if I need a ribbon "pronto", but the biggest problem that I run into with their supplier's ribbons is the fact that they normally don't have reversing grommets installed at the end of the ribbons, and unless your machine can sense ribbon tension and reverse the ribbon, you have to reverse the ribbon direction manually. I purchased a grommet installation tool to try and capitalize on the cheap price of Amazon ribbons, but found that it's not really worth the effort (plus my hands got really "inky") - I always come back to Ribbons Unlimited.

      Some cheap typewriter ribbon spools don't have grommets on them to force auto-reverse of the spool. Without grommets, some machines may sense ribbon tension for reversal, otherwise one needs to switch direction manually.

      There are grommet installation tools that one can use, but this often requires getting one's hands dirty to install them.

      Ribbons Unlimited has a good reputation in the r/typewriters community for providing good sales and service.

  12. Feb 2023
    1. TikTok offers an online resource center for creators seeking to learn more about its recommendation systems, and has opened multiple transparency and accountability centers where guests can learn how the app’s algorithm operates.

      There seems to be a number of issues with the positive and negative feedback systems these social media companies are trying to create. What are they really measuring? The either aren't measuring well or aren't designing well (or both?)...

  13. Jan 2023
    1. This was recommended in the Obsidian Members Group Discord for teaching someone how to setup an Obsidian vault with a GitHub repo for version control. Kamil claimed it was more clear than an intro article by [[Bryan Jenks]] on how to setup GitHub with Obsidian. Jenks eventually made a video about the process.

    1. A paper recommended in the presentation "William Rowlandson - Image, Imagination And The Imaginal" filmed at Breaking Convention 2017.

      Seems to be a different take on the "imaginal" than John Vervaeke's suggestion that the "imaginal" is using imagination for the sake of training and enhancing sensory awareness.

    1. An organization recommended to me for helping improve compressing complicated arguments into a more digestible for oration & verbal discussion. Mentioned by 2 separate people (Travis & Mavis).

  14. Dec 2022
    1. credentials need to be enhanced with additional data aboutindividual courses/modules a person has studied, together with the learning outcomes(skills/knowledge) obtained in each of those modules and other documentation of ability.Credentials should also be used to connect to evidence of achievement such as architecturalportfolios or coding projects. Wherever possible, credentials should refer to occupational standardsor sectoral competence frameworks to increase the ability to interpret them in a specific context

      Transparency is an equity issue. Adding common language and richer data on skills and competencies to credentials means: * More data about courses/module * Learning outcomes from those modules * Connect to evidence of achievement * Refer to occupational standards/competency frameworks

    2. Multiple initiatives have tried to make various kinds of social recommendations by issuingcredentials. However, up to this point they have worked better in closed social networks rather thanas open credentials due to the ability of social networks to tie a recommendation with the profile(and identity) of the recommender. There are also several nascent initiatives to create open linkeddata around which skills, credentials and issuers are valued by employers.

      Clearly, the LinkedIn recommendations use case is an example of one of these initiatives. It has not succeeded in creating strong social signals anchored in trust models. We are wise to consider what's missing from efforts like this. An even greater concern however, and one that I believe is an essential if we are to realize the transformative potential of digital credentials, is how to design social signals built on trust models that help all people. In a world long-governed by "it's not what you know, it's who you know," the social signals and trust models are overweighted in favor of people with connections to other people, organizations and brands that are all to some degree legacies of exclusionary and inequitable systems. We are likely to build new systems that perpetuate the same problems if we do not intentionally design them to function otherwise. For people (especially those from historically underserved populations) worthy of the recommendations but lacking in social connections, how do they access social recommendations built on trust models?

    1. My freely downloadable Beginning Mathematical Logic is a Study Guide, suggesting introductory readings beginning at sub-Masters level. Take a look at the main introductory suggestions on First-Order Logic, Computability, Set Theory as useful preparation. Tackling mid-level books will help develop your appreciation of mathematical approaches to logic.

      This is a reference to a great book "Beginning Mathematical Logic: A Study Guide [18 Feb 2022]" by Peter Smith on "Teach Yourself Logic A Study Guide (and other Book Notes)". The document itself is called "LogicStudyGuide.pdf".

      It focuses on mathematical logic and can be a gateway into understanding Gödel's incompleteness theorems.

      I found this some time ago when looking for a way to grasp the difference between first-order and second-order logics. I recall enjoying his style of writing and his commentary on the books he refers to. Both recollections still remain true after rereading some of it.

      It both serves as an intro to and recommended reading list for the following: - classical logics - first- & second-order - modal logics - model theory<br /> - non-classical logics - intuitionistic - relevant - free - plural - arithmetic, computability, and incompleteness - set theory (naïve and less naïve) - proof theory - algebras for logic - Boolean - Heyting/pseudo-Boolean - higher-order logics - type theory - homotopy type theory

  15. Nov 2022
    1. JohnPhilpin I have read a number of questions from people in different communities I am part of, asking for Podcast recommendations. I don’t think it is an easy question to answer. 1) There are millions of these puppies 2) Because I like something doesn’t mean you will 3) My recommendations this week might be different next - because 'moods' 4) and and and I wrote this post as a starting point. Happy to share my current OPML with anyone who wants it - add a comment below - or email me. Happy to offer my thoughts on what you might like if I know more about what you like. I won't typically offer BIG NAME podcasts.

      https://micro.blog/JohnPhilpin/14165886

      @JohnPhilpin Recommendations can often come cheap, particularly on iTunes where everyone begs for reviews. I prefer hearing about what people actually listened to. What did you invest your time in/on? This is why I sporadically maintain what I call a faux-cast or a feed of podcasts and audio I've actually listened to: https://boffosocko.com/2018/03/08/podcasts-of-things-ive-listened-to-or-want-to-listen-to/

  16. Jun 2022
  17. Jan 2022
  18. Jul 2021
    1. Recommendations DON'T use shifted PPMI with SVD. DON'T use SVD "correctly", i.e. without eigenvector weighting (performance drops 15 points compared to with eigenvalue weighting with (p = 0.5)). DO use PPMI and SVD with short contexts (window size of (2)). DO use many negative samples with SGNS. DO always use context distribution smoothing (raise unigram distribution to the power of (lpha = 0.75)) for all methods. DO use SGNS as a baseline (robust, fast and cheap to train). DO try adding context vectors in SGNS and GloVe.
  19. Mar 2021
  20. Jan 2021
    1. Documents examined by the Wall Street Journal last May show Facebook’s internal research found 64 percent of new members in extremist groups joined because of the social network’s “Groups you should join” and “Discover” algorithms.
  21. Oct 2020
    1. You see this in bookstores: staff recommendations. This is the store’s window into an infinite catalog of books. And it works. The system is: here are our favorites. Then, venturing further into the store: this is what we happen to have.

      I spent some time on Wednesday chatting with the owner of a used bookstore that had a 10x10 foot "kiosk" space in a local mall next to a make up cart. He had one of the single most highly curated collections of used books in about 12 categories that I've ever seen. It was stunningly awesome.

      I would never have expected this as a business to exist, but like itinerant booksellers of the 15th century, he's just doing what they've always done apparently.

    1. Student evaluations of teachers are notoriously biased against women, with women routinely receiving lower scores than their male counterparts.

      I recall some work on this sort of gender bias in job recommendations as well. Remember to dig it up for reference as well.

  22. Aug 2020
    1. Harper, Craig A., and Darren Rhodes. ‘Ideological Responses to the Breaking of COVID-19 Social Distancing Recommendations’, 19 August 2020. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/dkqj6.

    2. Harper, Craig A., and Darren Rhodes. ‘Ideological Responses to the Breaking of COVID-19 Social Distancing Recommendations’, 19 August 2020. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/dkqj6.

    3. Harper, Craig A., and Darren Rhodes. ‘Ideological Responses to the Breaking of COVID-19 Social Distancing Recommendations’, 19 August 2020. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/dkqj6.

  23. Jun 2020
  24. Jan 2019
    1. Seeing White. Recommended by a reader, this 14-part series on race and whiteness is essential listening.*

      This is also one of the best things I consumed this past year.

  25. Sep 2017
  26. Sep 2015
    1. Should you wish to learn more about the language, I am happy to recommend the following titles: JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke JavaScript Patterns by Stoyan Stefanov Writing Maintainable JavaScript by Nicholas Zakas JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford